Elektro 80 XMAS Special

elektro80 · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2003 9:57 am Post subject: Elektro 80 XMAS Special

The material here is unfinished.. in the sense that I haven´t debugged, mixed and mastered the trax properly. Some of the MP3 encodings aren´t that good either. Hopefully the material is entertaining anyway.

Utmost Savagery - link removed

The Man Who Japed - link removed

We Can Build You - link removed

Blinded By Memory

A Scanner Darkly - link removed

The Wild Blue - link removed

Transmigration - link removed

The Passage - link removed

Ahh.. and then some credits:
Ernst Wiggo Sandbakk plays various drums on "A Scanner Darkly" and "Wild Blue". Thomas Henriksen plays a Korg something thingie on "The Passage" and Arve Guldbrandsen plays a low fi kit ( that would drums, wouldn´t it ?) on the same song. And I guess I play the rest of the instruments, including the Simmons toms on "The Passage".

Arve Guldbransen and Thomas Henriksen are both members of the most excellent psychedelic band The Dipsomaniacs ( http://www.dipsomaniacs.com )

Ernst Wiggo Sandbakk -> http://www.oofotr.com/eernst.html . Check out his project "oofotr" at http://www.oofotr.com

Utmost Savagery is a pretty old piece, and originally called"A Requiem For Betio"
These links will provide some more info abouot what that piece is about.
http://www.worldhistoryhub.com/Utmost_Savagery_0804115591.html
http://tarawatheaftermath.com/
http://www.tarawaontheweb.org/
http://www.rickard.karoo.net/battlesmain12.html#tarawaintro

Operation Galvanic: Remembering Tarawa 60 Years Later
http://www.usna.com/News_Pubs/Publications/Shipmate/2003/11/Operation.htm

Some of the original sequencer work has been emulated using Cubase instead. Some of the original sequencers were:

Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

..some analog sequencers like the System 100m-182... and then the
Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

Waveterm A.

seraph · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2003 11:44 am Post subject:

this a real Xmas present
thanks Shocked

elektro80 · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2003 4:33 pm Post subject:

We aim to please. BTW: I just added some credits to the inital post.

Cyxeris · Joined: Oct 30, 2003 Posts: 1125 Location: Louisville, KY

Hmmm... That reminds me, but rather than hijack this thread, I'll go add to mine...

Cyx

seraph · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2003 4:56 pm Post subject:

elektro80 · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2003 4:59 pm Post subject:

My error. Typo! I have corrected the URL. It was supposed to be http://www.dipsomaniacs.com

mosc · Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003 6:49 am Post subject:

Pretty impressive gear there. I never heard of the MC8. Good thing because if I had known of it back then, I'd have bought one for sure. even though programming through a numeric keypad isn't my cup of tea. That Waveterm B looks really neat. Are those 8 inch floppy driives? What was that beast?

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003 7:01 am Post subject:

Here are some links to the Waveterm:

http://www.ppg.synth.net/waveterm.htm

http://www.synthmuseum.com/ppg/ppgwterm01.html

Basically it was a workstation expansion for the PPG Wave 2.2 and 2.3

It included simple sampling, sample loading from disks, sample editing and waveform editing. It also included a pretty powerful sequencer. The 2.2 and the 2.3 had 8 outs which could work as singular voice outputs or as 4 stereo sets. Controlled by the sequencer you then had a monster..

The sequencer used an event matrix layout. Great fun.

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003 7:15 am Post subject:

Actually, PPG was a company which had great promise. I really drooled over this one back in 86:
http://www.vintagesynth.org/misc/ppgrealizer.shtml

Posted Image, might have been reduced in size. Click Image to view fullscreen.

mosc · Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003 7:28 am Post subject:

Wow, what great pages. I was not into this in the 80s. Never heard of PPG. Amazing stuff they made. That last baby was $65,000. Probably why they went out of business. Nice that some is maintaining this web site.

elektro80 · Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2003 7:35 am Post subject:

PPG was great. They used a very cool hybrid design for the Wave series. -Analog filters using the curtis chip.. same as in that Doepfer module in the XMAS gift post. Fat! The interface was excellent and.. hehe.. the internal sequencer could record stuff like waveform changes and whatnot.

phechs · Joined: Nov 03, 2003 Posts: 2

I've heard a Wave, years ago...but very lush sound for its time. Actually the VST interpretation is fairly good representation if my memory serves me correctly.

Interesting stuff, really reminds me of the gear i would dream about in my earlier years.

elektro80 · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2003 4:26 pm Post subject:

The Waldorf VST version is very good. The filters aren´t quite there,.. but close enough.. Lush.. yes.. I guess so. many of the signature sounds of the Wave were pretty all over the place back then. Like the wavetable spin etc. .. but as a synth it was very good.. and still is. Of course the 12 bit synthesis was not quite up to modern standards. And add the waveterm and you would have a pretty decent monster.

Mohoyoho · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2003 7:19 pm Post subject:

Is the Waldorf Microwave series anything like the Wave?

By the way, I'm listening to Utmost Savagery and loving it.

elektro80 · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2003 8:08 pm Post subject:

People say it is, but I have never used that Waldor model.. so I have no idea.

"Utmost Savagery"?
A piece inspired by the landing on Betio. You can look up Tarawa and Betio here: http://history.acusd.edu/gen/WW2Timeline/Betio.html

Imagine dead and dying floating in the lagune.

It is partly reconstructed from some Tascam half inch 8 tracks. Actually there were two synced 8 tracks... but one of them was impossibly to salvage. I rerecorded the parts layers tat were missing. Amazingly I also got rid of noise and hiss.

elektro80 · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2003 8:09 pm Post subject:

THX!

egw · Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2003 6:34 am Post subject:

I haven't used the Wave, but I have a Microwave XT. It's wavetable architecture is an evolution of the original Wave. It has the wavetables of the Wave and Wave 2.2. So it should be able to provide a very good emulation. The filters are digital, however, so it won't be exactly the same.

The microwave XT is a great, unique sounding and versatile synth. However I would be careful about buying Waldorf products right now, since they seem to be having some trouble. There is a very good user forum you can sign up for on the Waldorf site.

elektro80 · Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2003 8:01 am Post subject:

Here is a link to a PDF file of all 300 ROM waves of the waldorf microwave shown as single cycle and as spectrum plots.

microwave-300waves.pdf

Mohoyoho · Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2003 11:50 am Post subject:

I already own an XT and a Q rack. I love them. But I have never heard a Wave and wanted to know how close the XT was. I sure hope Waldorf can get it together. What great products. I would say the Q is my favorite synth that I own.

elektro80 · Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2003 12:05 pm Post subject:

The Curtis chip used in the PPG Wave filters was also used in some Sequential products. The PPG Wave series had some of the same fatness and vibrant analog feel to the sound. A fact which is very much understated these days is how far you really could take the Wave in combination with the Waveterm workstation. Of the songs here, "Blinded By Memory" and "The Man Who Japed" both have extensive use of the PPG Wave 2.3 and also the Waldorf Wave VSTi. The Wave sounds you hear there are very typical, but I am aware that KS and TD took the sound of the Wave in other directions than I did.

elektro80 · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 1:55 pm Post subject:

The links to the sound files died. I have put them up on another server. Laughing

themoors · Joined: Dec 15, 2003 Posts: 148 Location: northern england

Just downloaded a scanner darkly, epic stuff! the music is great, its a long track but it always keeps your attention. V.Impressed, will listen to more when i have the time. I cant say how much I love Dick. Its good to see Im not the Only musician inspired by Dick.

On a side note, i was posting at another forum about my favourite sci-fi writers. This forum has an automatic language filter

So i came out this

Valis is my favourite novel bu Philip K "censored"

elektro80 · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 4:52 pm Post subject:

THX!

Yup.. PKD is a great writer.
You have some PKD inspired stuff too ? Let us hear it!

"censored" Shocked

Fantastic! Awesome!

7/4 · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 6:08 pm Post subject:

I like, I like. Laughing

Big fan of Valis too!

elektro80 · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2004 6:17 pm Post subject:

.....but... i haven´t put Valis out on the net yet. I am still looking for a Polymoog to borrow for some of the parts. Sigh.. Shocked